You can read Part 1 of this story here.  Part 2 will make more sense if you read Part 1 first!

It was time to enroll in a copywriting course.

If I wanted to take this plunge into the copywriting world seriously, I would need to complete a real deal, no playing around, copywriting course.  And that’s what I did.  From September to November of 2020, I completed a comprehensive, introductory course in copywriting.  This was a self-paced course, which is a style that always works best for me.   

At the risk of tooting my own horn, I think my writing skills were pretty good before starting the course, but I felt that I needed to learn some fundamental copywriting skills to maximize my success in this world.  There were many potential courses out there to choose from, but I ended up choosing the American Writer’s & Artists Institute’s (AWAI) course titled “The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting”.  I chose this particular course for three reasons.  

One, AWAI is well known in the copywriting world.  Two, their online reviews were generally very positive.  And three, after watching many hours of their YouTube content, it became very clear.  These people were serious writing professionals.  

This course is AWAI’s foundational and most popular course.  Retail price was $497, but I ended getting it for $297 during one of their promotions.  The course was an excellent overall introduction to copywriting and very much worth the retail price.  If you’re looking for a self-paced copywriting course, I would recommend this one.  

The course is broken up into 5 major sections that are listed below.  I also added a relevant excerpt from each section.

1 – Getting Started as a Copywriter: The Opportunity & Lifestyle

“But, here’s what I consider to be the best reason for becoming a copywriter: freedom. As a professional direct-response copywriter, not only can you make a great deal of money — you can do it from anywhere in the world, whenever the mood strikes you.

2 – The Fundamentals of Persuasive Writing 

“The copywriting secrets we’ve culled from the industry’s top “players” have never before been brought together in one place.  And, as far as I know, no one has ever put together as comprehensive a learning program specifically for writing winning direct-response packages and online sales promotions.”

3 – The Secret Structure of Direct-Response Sales Copy

“Basically, a feature is something the product is or contains.  And a benefit is what the product does.  Mark Ford teaches us to go beyond features and benefits and include what he calls the ‘deeper benefit,’ which is how the product can change the prospect’s life.” — Bob Bly

4 – Choosing Your Path

“However, at this point many new writers make a mistake that costs them days, weeks, and sometimes months of indecision and wasted efforts. That mistake is failing to choose a path — or niche.”

5 – You’re a Copywriter!  Your Guide to Getting Clients 

“Every business owner or marketing director has one basic goal: to increase sales.  Every new (and experienced) copywriter has one basic goal: to get clients.  Your personal marketing plan will give you the tools to connect your goal of getting clients with the business owners who want to increase sales.”        

I got my first copywriting job!

Back in 2018, my wife (also a dental hygienist) told Pete, the marketing person in her dental office, that I had some experience blogging, creating dental related YouTube content and using FaceBook ads to market my Kona Adapter product.  

He contacted me back then to see if I wanted to work with him in some capacity.  At the time, I was working full time as a clinical dental hygienist and managing the Kona Adapter business.  And on top of that, I was training 6 days a week to race bicycles.  Any remaining time I had was spent with the family (wife and daughter) and our many animals (dogs, cats, chickens).  Long story short, my plate was full.  And I ended up turning down the opportunity.

But when I quit my clinical job in 2020, and decided to pursue copywriting, the first person I contacted was Pete.  For a little more context, my wife’s boss Dr. Turner, has been my personal dentist since 2008.  I also volunteered on a Honduras dental mission with him in 2011.  We already had a pretty well established connection, which made landing this gig pretty easy.  I think the lesson here is this.  When you’re starting a new venture, contact the people you know first!  

Pete and I started with a lunch meeting at Frate’s Drive-In in Taunton, MA.  Side note:  If you’re ever in the Taunton area during the summer, go to Frate’s for some great American food and a fun outdoor dining experience!  No, I was not paid to say that.  

During our lunch meeting, Pete expressed that he needed a writer to provide him with a new blog post every month for Dr. Turner’s practice website.  He had no specifics in mind.  Just something dental related of course.  Writers like that kind of freedom!  

As the lunch meeting moved along, it was just a matter of time before the question of price would come up.  Luckily I had AWAI’s Pricing Guide to help me.  This is one of the many benefits of being a AWAI member by the way.  According to the guide, an experienced writer should be charging at least $150 per blog post.  

As I took a bite of my salmon burger at the picnic table, Pete asked me how much I charged for a blog post.  In my head, I was thinking, “I have no idea.  This is all new to me”.  But I let the guide…well…guide me.  

Since this was my personal dentist and my first paid writing job, I just threw out the minimum according to the guide—$150.  He didn’t flinch at the price.  I probably could have asked for more!  

As of February 2021, I’ve written 6 blog posts for a total of $900.  Not a crazy amount of money, but I was getting paid to write.  I’ll take it.  

I needed to put my copywriting shingle out and attract clients.

As I worked through the AWAI copywriting course in late 2020, I wanted to put out a few marketing efforts to get the ball rolling.  Efforts that wouldn’t cost me anything.  So here’s what I did.

1 – Shared my exit story in the Facebook group “Trapped in an OP”

I posted Part 1 of this story in the “Trapped in an Op” Facebook group.  For those who don’t know, this group is for dental professionals who want to leave, or have left, the clinical setting.  I’m happy to say that the post got a lot of attention and interaction.  

I shared my story for two reasons.  One, I felt like my colleagues would enjoy it and maybe some would find it encouraging.  Two, I wanted to start getting the word out that I was open for business as a writer.  This tactic paid off (I’ll expand on this later).  

2 – Shared the same post on my MarkRDH.com blog

Like the Facebook post, the blog post received above average interaction which is always a good feeling.  My blog has a little over 600 subscribers.  I also created a separate page on the blog advertising my copywriting services (with a focus on blog posts) which included a few sample blog posts.  This page gave me another opportunity to practice my new copywriting / persuasion skills.

3 – Added a link to my email signature

Since I interact with numerous Kona Adapter customers (mostly dentists) via email almost every day, I decided to add a link in my email signature to advertise the page mentioned above.  It was a nice subtle, indirect form of advertising without taking advantage of my customers’ attention.   

4 – Contacted my close dental network

I directly contacted (through email or Facebook message) any dentist or office manager I personally knew and worked with in the past to let them know what I was up to.  I only choose specific individuals who I thought might be interested.  I ended up contacting six people.   

5 – Invited to be a guest on two dental podcasts 

After posting Part 1 of my story on Facebook and my blog, I was invited to be a guest on two dental podcasts.  “The Practice X-Factor” with Dr. Tyler Williams and “What Are You More Than?” with Dr. Amira May Woodruff and Dr. Warren E. Woodruff.  Both podcast episodes gave me a chance to share my story.  At the time of this writing, the second podcast episode has not been posted yet.     

Did these simple marketing efforts work?

I would say yes.  I would have some people contact me in the next few months (I’ll get to that in the next section).  Some of these marketing efforts were better than others, but in the end, none of them cost me a dime.            

5 potential clients contacted me

The first potential client was my personal dentist Dr. Turner (full story shared above).  My outreach to Pete, Dr. Turner’s marketing person, was directly responsible for this inquiry.

The second potential client was an implant marketing company.  I’m not 100% positive, but I’m pretty sure someone from the company saw my post on Facebook and thought I would be a good fit.  Soon after posting my story, I was contacted via Facebook Messenger, by one of the co-founder’s of the company asking if I would be interested in writing for them.  My answer was yes.  That led to two Zoom Meeting interviews.  The first with the VP of Operations and the second with the same VP, the head writer and the other co-founder of the company.  Both interviews went well. 

The third potential client was a popular dental instrument manufacturer.  The CEO of the company sent me an email.  My blog post drove this particular inquiry.  Here are two excerpts from her email:

“I just read through your website.  Love your story!  Thank you for your service in the military and as a dental hygienist.  Really enjoyed how you came up with the Kona Adapter!  I’m a designer/inventor too.  It intrigues me that you are now doing copywriting.  I love that through your experience you see things from a different angle.”

“If you are interested in the possibility of doing some copywriting for us, please let me know and I will connect you with our Marketing Manager.”

The fourth potential client was a dentist looking for content to market a senior dental program.  Here’s an excerpt from his email.

“Hi Mark, 

I’m really glad you sent this email [my blog posts are automatically emailed to blog subscribers].  And congratulations on your new adventure.  I am currently interviewing for an executive role with a company that delivers mobile dental care to seniors in long-term care facilities.  Part of my proposed job description would be to create written content for both internal and external circulation to continuously promote medical care for seniors and for this company in particular.  If I were to hire you for monthly or quarterly postings, in varying degrees of length and scientific depth, what would that look like financially to me?  I hope I get this role and can hire you to do this for me.

The fifth potential client was a dental temp agency.  Here’s an excerpt from their email.

“We’re not looking for new articles but we are looking for writers to mention us in their upcoming blog posts.  A mention can be a simple link to any of our resources.  I see that you have published on dental websites before, we would be happy to offer $200 per mention in a relevant upcoming post.  This can be a post on your site or a post on any of the other websites you work for!  What do you think?”

I currently have two (or three) “long term” clients

As previously mentioned, the first client I have is my personal dentist.  

For him, I am writing one blog post per month.  $150 per post.  I’m completely free to choose the dental topics and post length, which so far have been 300 to 600 words.  This client has been really hands off.  He has not asked me to change or modify any of the blog posts so far.  This has been a pretty straight forward gig.

The second client I have is the implant marketing company.  

Their focus is on creating comprehensive marketing campaigns that drive implant patients to their clients (dentists and dental practices).  They recently expanded this same marketing service to drive “airway” patients.  These are patients who are struggling with sleep apnea who can benefit from an oral sleep appliance that can be fabricated by qualified dentists.  Here’s where I came in.  

For the last few months I have been writing advertorials and emails for this client. 

These advertorials and emails are related to sleep apnea and oral sleep appliances.  For those who may not know, advertorials are advertisements written in the style of a newspaper article.  A more subtle form of advertising some may say.  I also write an email for each advertorial written that can be used by the client to drive current patients to read the advertorial (or for some other purpose).  

The primary material source for writing these advertorials comes from interviews we do with the clients via Zoom.  The dentist (the client) will usually tell us a story about a patient who struggled with a sleep disorder (primarily obstructive sleep apnea) and then found an answer with the treatment offered by the dentist.  We take the audio from that interview and create a written transcript.  I’ll then take that transcript and mold a story out of it.  After completing the first draft, I’ll add photos (mostly high quality stock photos) to the advertorial that match the story.  The marketing campaign is much more comprehensive than just the advertorial and email, but that’s my part of it.  

How is this second client paying me?

I’m currently getting paid by the hour, but I will eventually get paid a flat fee per advertorial and email written.  I’m not an employee of this company.  My status is an  independent contractor.  Normally, I would share pay information with everything I do, but out of respect for the company, I won’t share exact numbers.  But here’s what I will say.  The hourly pay is less than what the average hygienist earns, but in the short term, I don’t care.  

I’m looking at the writing I’m doing now as a great opportunity to learn and gain experience.  Once I gain a certain level of experience, I will then ask for higher pay.  I can be more flexible on pay because I’m fortunate enough to have a primary income (Kona Adapter business) that is currently paying the bills.  This is gives me the freedom to develop my writing career without compromising how and what I want to write.

Personally, I’m not a fan of getting paid by the hour.  

I much prefer getting paid based on output.  The better I get and the quicker I write the more I earn with a flat fee.  It’s a built in raise system in a sense.  In my opinion, getting paid by output is much better for both the writer and the client.       

Even though I’m not sharing my hourly pay, I can give you an idea of what an experienced writer could expect.  Below is the fee range from my AWAI Pricing Guide.

AWAI’s 2020 Pricing Guide Suggested Fees

Article = $250 – $1,000

Blog post = $150 – $800

Stand alone e-mail = $250 – $2,000

E-mail in a series = $100 – $1,000

Advertorial = $800 – $1,500                 

I’m also my own client in a sense.  

I’ve been practicing my copywriting skills with my Kona Adapter business too, mostly through email marketing.  For those who might be interested, I use the MailChimp email marketing software, which is very user friendly.  Again, not paid to say that.  The emails I write are either announcing a sale or sharing content with an indirect sales pitch.  

The marketing efforts for my Kona Adapter product have primarily been email marketing to current customers (the best ROI in my experience), a Facebook business page, a few Facebook ads, a website / blog, some YouTube videos, and word of mouth.  Most of these marketing channels can always benefit from better copywriting.

What about the other three potential clients I mentioned?  The CEO from the dental manufacturing company.  The dentist and potential director of a senior dental program.  And the dental temp agency wanting me to mention them in my writings.  I decided to pass on all three opportunities.  Why?  The first reason is that those opportunities involved topics or styles of writing that I have little or no interest in.  

Writing is not easy.  Quality writing requires a lot of mental energy, at least for me.  When you’re not interested in a topic, it’s difficult to muster up the needed energy to do it well.  I’m sure many of you can relate to this when you wrote research papers in school on topics you had zero interest in.  It’s quite painful.  

The second reason I decided to pass is that I had enough writing work, or potential work, on my plate.  The blog posts I write for my personal dentist once a month don’t take much time.  The writing I’ve done for the implant marketing company so far has required about 15 hours per week.  But the potential to write more for them is there.  They’re working to ramp up the number airway clients quite a bit.  

The third reason is that I also have a few personal writing projects that I’m allocating time to (I’ll expand on this in the next section).               

A few random thoughts on earnings and pay

Can paid writing realistically replace a dental hygienist’s salary?  

Well…maybe.  Let’s assume a hygienist is working 32 hours per week and earning $35 per hour.  That’s $1,120 per week.  If I add 20% for benefits that would be $1,344 per week.  

Let’s take the lowest fee from the AWAI Pricing Guide for this calculation—$150 per blog post, $250 per article, $250 per email and $800 per advertorial.  This calculation assumes you have the needed paid clients.  

It’s important to note that maintaining a full-time workload is one of the challenges of having a writing business.  Because most writing gigs are short-term / temporary, most writers will need to be on a constant search for new clients.  With that said, let’s assume you have the clients.  Here are the calculations.

To earn a weekly pay of $1,344 per week you would need to write.

1.7 advertorials per week

9.0 blog posts per week

5.4 articles per week

5.4 emails per week

That kind of output is doable, but in my opinion, it ain’t easy.  Especially if the writing requires a lot of research and / or feedback from the client.  I think the best way to make really big money (at least 100K per year) is to become a highly skilled writer who can command high fees.  In other words, someone who can write a highly persuasive sales letter or landing page that will drive significant sales for a client.    

Hourly pay vs. Flat fee vs. Percentage of Sales

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t mind getting paid by the hour in the beginning.  But long term, I want all my pay to be based on output—flat fee or a percentage of sales.  With percentage of sales having the most potential and the most risk.  Two sales examples.  

• Let’s say I write a novel that takes me 1000 hours to write.  I ask $5 for each book.  On one extreme, no one buys the book and I make $0 per hour.  On the other extreme, the book becomes a runaway hit and I sell 1 million copies.  That equates to $5,000 per hour.
• Let’s say I write a sales letter for a company that sells $1,000 bicycles online.  The letter takes me 20 hours to write.  The company agrees to pay me 5% of the sales.  Scenario one, my sales letter sucks and I sell zero bikes.  That’s obviously $0 per hour.  Not good.  Scenario two, my sales letter, over multiple campaigns throughout the year, sells 500 bikes.  That equates to $1,250 per hour.  Not bad!

Sales-based pay obviously carries the risk of getting paid very little or nothing at all for many hours of mental labor, but it also has the potential to really pay off big.  I prefer the risk.  The real beauty of basing earnings on sales is that it allows you to earn while you sleep.  This is the exact opposite of clinical hygiene.  If you’re not seeing patients, you’re not earning.         

Personal writing projects

I currently have two personal writing projects rolling around in my head.  I haven’t committed to either one.  They’re still just ideas.  These would not be examples of copywriting.  These would be small books that simply tell an interesting story that’s not trying to sell anything…except the book itself!

Book #1 – My Exit Story From Clinical Hygiene

If you’re reading this, (obviously you are), then you may have already started reading the book!  My idea is to expand on Part 1 and Part 2 and then add to the story as my writing journey unfolds throughout 2021.  When would this book be available?  Not sure.

Book #2 – From the Dental Operatory to a Federal Prison Cell

I’ve exchanged a few emails and letters with a dental hygienist named Cherie Dillon over the last few years.  I also wrote two blog posts about her case.  She was convicted and sentenced to five years in federal prison in 2017 for healthcare fraud and identity theft.  She is scheduled for an early release in May 2021.  

Cherie has already agreed to do a podcast with me to share her story, so stay tuned for that!  The idea I have for book #2 is to tell multiple stories of dental professionals who have gone to prison for dental related convictions.  Cherie’s case is the primary motivation for writing this book.  

If you find these book ideas interesting and want to be notified when they’re released, please subscribe to my blog.  And any feedback on my book ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Final thoughts

I’m now one of those “work from home” people.  The kind of people I’ve always envied.  Look at me now.  I spend most of my work days reading and writing.  I no longer have to commute 35 minutes each way.  My dog now gets two walks a day.  He loves it!  I can take my daughter to school.  For me, it really doesn’t get better than this.  The unpredictability of self-employment is more stressful in some ways, but I’ve never felt more free in my life.  

If you’re a dental professional looking to leave the clinical environment, I hope these posts (and possibly future book) helps provide the encouragement you need.  Keep in touch by subscribing to my blog today!

Mark Frias, RDH